Eddie Thompson (1925-1986) was born in Shoreditch, London and was
blind at birth. He developed a love for jazz as a child by
listening to the radio and hearing Earl Hines, Art Tatum and Fats
Waller. Eddie absorbed their piano styles, as well as others he
heard, and incorporated Dixieland, stride, swing, boogie-woogie and
bop into his own repertoire. His playing displays them all, and
often within the same song. This disc is a collection of 15 of his
tunes; five were recorded in late 1962 with bassist Ron Lundberg
and drummer Lou Berryman, and another five with the same musicians
in early 1963. The final five songs were recorded live in
September, 1975 at a piano party at the home of Jeani and Sigi Mohr
in Santa Clara, California. Eddie composed six of the fifteen,
including Bread For Ed, a jazzy, fast-paced number which
Eddie uses to demonstrate his incredible piano technique,
alternating between right-hand block chords and lightning keyboard
runs, while leaving room for fine individual solos by drummer Lou
Berryman and Ron Lundberg on bass, and Shepherd Pie, a
melodic quick-time waltz featuring Eddie on piano and Ron keeping
time on the snare. How Are Things In Glocca Morra was
written by Burton Lane, with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, and appeared
in the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow. Eddie’s plays his
lovely arrangement with a slow march time, starting with two bass
notes with the left hand, and using heavy chords and brief
arpeggios for the melody. Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn wrote I Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry in 1944,
and the song appeared in the musical comedy Glad to See You. Eddie plays with a light, melancholic
touch that is perfectly matched by a wistful drum rhythm and
subdued bass line. Dancing On The Ceiling, written by
Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart, appeared in the 1930 musical Ever Green, where it was performed in London on the
Adelphi Theater’s revolving stage. The song had been originally
scheduled for Ed Wynn’s musical Simple Simon but was
dropped before the show opened. Eddie’s version starts with a slow
marching rhythm, then breaks out into a buffet of styles ranging
from Dixie to the blues, and tempos from slow to galloping. A few
songs on this disc seem out of place. State Occasion is a
ponderous foot-dragger that doesn’t go anywhere. Another tune that
could have been re-thought is Baby Mine, which was
composed by Frank Churchill, with lyrics by Ned Washington. The
song appeared in the 1941 Disney animated film Dumbo and
was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song
is a mother’s gentle lullaby. Eddie’s bouncy swing version is
well-played but misses the mark.

A 12- page booklet is included with the disc, with comments from
Eddie in 1963 and Siegfried Mohr in 2014. The album was produced by
Alastair Robertson and remastered by Alan Bunting.